Kate Howard
|years = 2007–10, 2011— |first = May 4, 2007 |last = |cause = |creator = Robert Guza, Jr. and Meg Bennett |introducer = |books = |spinoffs = |caption1 = as Kate Howard |caption2 = as Kate Howard |image3 = |caption3 = |nickname = |gender = Female |died = |death cause = |occupation = Editor of Crimson Magazine |title = |residence = |parents = |siblings = |husband = Johnny Zacchara (2012—) |romances = Sonny Corinthos Mitchell Coleman Jasper Jacks Trevor Lansing |grandchildren = |grandparents = |aunts/uncles = Talia Falconeri Theresa Falconeri |nieces/nephews = |relatives = Dante Falconeri Tommy Falconeri }} Katherine Hardwicke "Kate" Howard is a fictional character from the long running daytime soap opera, General Hospital. The role is originated in 2007 by Megan Ward, but has since been recast by . Conception Backstory Upon first introduction, Kate Howard is approximately 40 years old and famous for being the editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine, similar to the character of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. Her history is told through bits of dialogue, primarily between her and the character Sonny Corinthos, played by Maurice Benard. Through these glimpses, it is revealed Kate Howard was born Constanza "Connie" Louise Falconeri. She was raised in Bensonhurst, New York, to an Italian American family, where she worked at a bakery and attended Sacred Heart Catholic school in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 18, wanting a better life for herself, Connie legally changed her name to Kate Howard, after Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. Her desire was to choose an easily recognizable name that alluded to a good background and social standing. She attended Princeton University, on a full scholarship and worked her way up the ranks to become the editor of the fictional top fashion magazine, Couture. Since then, she has hidden her past as Connie Falconeri, claiming instead to be from Connecticut. Kate and mob boss Sonny Corinthos dated as teenagers and had planned to run away together, but on the night they were to leave, she stood him up. She later explained to him that she wanted to pursue her dreams of having a career, something she could not do had she run away with Sonny. Casting Megan Ward first appears in the role of Kate Howard on May 4, 2007 on a contractual basis. After a lack of story for nearly four months, Ward was dropped to recurring status in the spring of 2009. Ward last appeared as Kate on October 20, 2010. Ward also earned a pre-nomination in 2008 for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her portrayal of Kate Howard. On July 21, 2011, it was announced that actress, Kelly Sullivan had sign on to recast the role of Kate. The controversial recast upset many fans due to the significant age difference between Ward and Sullivan. Sullivan made her debut in the role on September 12, 2011. Speculation arose in June 2013 that Sullivan had been let go by the ABC series. Sullivan later confirmed her exit on her Facebook webpage, confirming, :: "Thank you all so much for your support and loyalty," she wrote. "You are my life long family and I cannot express how much I appreciate each of you. You have really made my experience here on GH a wonderful adventure. I wanted to fill you all in on the details and try to answer some of your questions. I am not returning to GH after August. This is not a contract issue, I have been written off the show. I do not have any information on potential Daytime opportunities. Lastly, I have no ill feelings towards any of the staff or crew connected to the show or the network. I will miss everyone dearly. Love, Kelly" Sullivan would remain with the series through August. Sullivan filmed her final scenes on Friday, July 26, 2013. Following the news of her departure, rumors began to circulate that the character of Connie would be killed off. Sullivan eventually confirmed those rumors at a fan event in late July. Upon Connie's death on August 27, 2013, Sullivan tweeted: "RIP Connie, It was a great two years! Thank you for your love and support, it means so much. Long live GH!" She made her last appearance as a ghost to Sonny on September 6, 2013. Sullivan reprised the role from February 12 to March 4, 2014 in a guest capacity (in AJ's imagination and in flashbacks) as part of the reveal that Ava Jerome killed Connie and not A.J. Quartermaine. Sullivan reprised the role again, for one episode, that aired on October 24, 2014. She last appeared with actress Megan Ward in an unannounced guest appearance on January 17, 2018, during a special one-off episode focused on the surgery of Ava Jerome (Maura West). Characterization Storylines 2007–2010 The character was introduced to the show on May 8, 2007 when she walked into Sonny's office unannounced and demanded the use of a phone because her car had broken down. She at first pretended she did not know Sonny, but he eventually recognized her as Connie Falconeri from Bensonhurst. Diane Miller, Sonny's lawyer, later mentioned Kate Howard is considered one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in America" in the fictional world of General Hospital. She purchased a mansion next door to Sonny and proceeded to re-decorate to serve as her vacation residence, much to the annoyance of Carly Corinthos Jacks, Sonny's ex-wife. However, though Kate knows Sonny is a mobster she is badly shaken when she witnessed Sonny physically threatening Jerry Jacks, and rethinks her desire to pursue a new relationship with him. During a reception for a charity sponsored by the singer Eli Love, Kate was suffering from a headache and mistook a libido-enhancement pill for ibuprofen, which she found in her boss' jacket, Warren James. She then visited Sonny Corinthos, while she was under the effects of the drug, and seduced Sonny. On another occasion, Kate, who does not swim, rescued Morgan Corinthos from drowning in her pond. While she was in the pond, she was bitten by a snake and was hospitalized. Kate Howard was arrested for reckless driving and for a hit and run. She side swiped a police car and did not stop. She also has a prior traffic violation in which she also side swiped a parked car, while she was in the Hamptons, but did not stop. She received a six months suspended license for the first violation. Kate cites this as one of the reasons why she moved to Port Charles. Her lawyer had advised her to not visit the Hamptons for a while and thus, she bought the house in Port Charles. She was released into Sonny's custody, after spending the night in jail. Diane Miller was attempting to work on a plea agreement for Kate. As a thank you for her work, Kate was going to reward her by scheduling her a fitting for a custom designer dress. The interim District Attorney, Ric Lansing, refused the plea agreement seeking to take revenge on Sonny through Kate. Kate's friend and former lover was Trevor Lansing, Ric Lansing's father and he arrived in town on August 22, 2007. He blackmailed Ric, unbeknownst to Kate, and threatened him with losing custody of his daughter Molly if he did not accept reducing the charges against Kate. The charges were reduced. A plea agreement was reached with a fine and community service. Upon learning of Kate's close relationship with Sonny, Trevor contacted personal friends to remove advertisements from Couture. He wanted to blackmail Kate into choosing between him and her career or Sonny.Soap Opera Weekly, "GH's Kate Crashes - and Burns Sonny", September 18, 2007 She chose her career. After a confrontation between her and Trevor, Kate was drugged and got into a car accident.ABC's Soap Opera's In Depth, "Kate breaks up with Sonny", October 23, 2007 She was later arrested and tried for reckless driving. She received six months of community service and forced to wear an ankle monitor thanks to Sonny blackmailing the judge. She is now doing community service as part of her six month community service sentence. Trevor had her fired from Couture magazine due to a breach of her contract. Kate has decided to become a fashion designer and start her own magazine. Jasper Jacks is financing the magazine. Kate moved back to Manhattan trying to get away from Sonny. Warren offered her her job at Couture. Nevertheless, Sonny went to Manhattan looking for her. Sonny, after a few days in Manhattan, had to leave the city because of a restriction order. This was filed after he assaulted a man at an art gallery show on New Year's Eve. Kate briefly worked as a collaborator for Couture but is again in charge of the magazine.ABC's Soaps In Depth, "Engaged? Sonny pops the question to Kate", Issue of January 28, 2008 Sonny later came back to take Kate to Bensonhurst. They visited several memorable places from the youth. Sonny then proposed. Kate did not answer and ran away. She later went looking for Sonny in Port Charles and she told him that she did not accept his proposal because he does not love her as who she is now. He loves Connie from Bensonhurst. Megan Ward echoes her character's words; she stated Kate "fears that Sonny is really in love with the girl she was and not the woman she has become".Soap Opera Digest, "Strangers in the Night", page 36. Issue of February 5, 2007 Kate's cousin Olivia Falconeri moved to Port Charles to be her maid of honor. An emotional Kate met with Jasper Jacks. Megan Ward explains her character was "feeling very lost" and that is "why she came clean to Jax".Soap Opera Digest, "Hot Plots Preview: Kate wants Sonny back", page 18. Issue of February 19, 2008 She told him about her life as Connie in Bensonhurst. Jax questioned her about what her family thought about this. Before she could answer, Carly interrupted. Sonny has asked the same question, which Kate has not answered. Fans and soap opera magazines speculate the character of Kate Howard is keeping a secret which forces her to keep her real identity secret.ABC's Soaps in Depth, "February Sweeps", page 4, Issue of February 11, 2008. Later, Kate met with Sonny in an attempt to reconcile with him and kissed him. Kate, while visiting a building she wanted as a based on operations for her new magazine, was shot by Sonny's son, Michael Corinthos, by accident. Sonny found her and rushed her to the hospital. Kate survived the surgery but knows the gunshot wound took some years off her life. She forgave Michael for what happened. Kate and Sonny knew each other since their childhood in Bensonhurst, a tough Italian area of New York City. They often talk about their shared past and wonder what would have happened if Connie and Sonny had run off and gotten married. Kate and Sonny have been dating off and on since September 2007. Kate did not like Sonny's sons, finding them ill-behaved, until they became part of the package of dating Sonny. She helped Sonny with getting his daughter Kristina into a private school. Sonny has cheated on her twice, once with Claudia Zacchara and once with ex-wife Carly on the way back to Port Charles after dropping off their son Michael in his permanent care facility. Sonny was worried Carly was pregnant in late July, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Sonny and Kate attempt to marry, however, their happiness was cut short due to her getting shot at the alter. Sonny was as well stabbed on Halloween and saved by his Carly. Kate then learns from Jax that Sonny and Carly slept together again; this leads Kate to officially end her relationship with Sonny. Kate learned Sonny's late wife Claudia is the one that hired Dr. Ian Devlin to shoot Sonny (which led to Michael getting shot instead). She later learned that Anthony was the one that shot her. In 2010, Dante was found out to be Sonny's son. Sonny and Kate have a conversation about Kate's knowledge of Dante and the fact she kept it from him since they were teenagers. Kate also acknowledges she finally knows that they were never meant to be, with Sonny nodding his head in agreement. It is also implied Sonny doesn't hold a grudge that Kate didn't tell him about Dante. 2011— In September 2011, after almost a year off-screen, Kate returned to Port Charles, resuming her role at Crimson Magazine. Since returning, Kate has been helping Sonny come to terms with his childhood abuse from his father. The pair return to Bensonhurst in December, and spend Christmas together. They later decide to re-bond and re-build their relationship slowly. Kate admits to Sonny that whenever she's leaving town, she's not going to meetings, she's seeing a psychiatrist. It's later revealed that during her run-in with Jax, he signed over his share and rights to the MetroCourt to her, making her Carly's partner in the running of the hotel. After an argument with Sonny, it's revealed that Kate still has possession of her bloody wedding dressed, locked away in an oak chest. Kate continues to get dropped phone calls and mysterious calls from unknown callers. At the Pulminary event at the MetroCourt, Johnny unveils that Anthony is not his father but his grandfather. He promises to make Sonny pay for destroying his family. In the parking garage, a hitman shoots at Dante; Sonny interferes and gets shot himself. Upon finding out Sonny had been shot, Kate rushed to the garage and began to zone out of reality. She then visited Sonny in the hospital and left his side after he wanted to take revenge, ending their relationship again. She then goes to the dock, in her bloody wedding gown and is unsure of why she's there. She continued to act very despondent, and had difficulty recalling the events on the night. Kate then confesses to Ewen that she's been finding random pieces of paper with names and phone numbers on them following her blackouts. After splitting with Sonny, the two reconnect on her desk. She continues to insist she is not "Connie" but "Kate. However, once he leaves, she continues to smell her old perfume. She shows up at Johnny's and insists she is "Connie" and that "Kate" is the one with the problem. Reception References External Links Category:General Hospital characters Category:Zacchara family